Traditionally, wagering games such as slot games, poker games, blackjack games, etc., have been permitted only in certain jurisdictions. In these jurisdictions, such wagering games were only allowed in gaming establishments such as casinos and the like.
However, it has now become very common for such wagering games to be played via the Internet. Such games may be referred to herein as “Internet wagering games” or the like, although the invention is not limited to wagering games and networks other than the Internet may be used to provide such games.
Although Internet wagering games are currently illegal in the United States, they are very popular in many parts of the world. A recent poll of United States citizens determined that approximately 67% believed that the United States government should allow entities based in the United States to legally provide Internet wagering games. It seems likely that Internet wagering games will eventually become legal in more parts of the world, including at least some jurisdictions of the United States.
For a gaming establishment, it can be important to determine the game playing habits of individual game players. When the game playing habits of an individual player are known, the gaming establishment may provide incentives corresponding to the game playing habits of the individual game player to encourage additional game play. For example, the gaming establishment may provide an individual player with coupons for free meals, free rooms or discounted game play, depending on the player's game playing habits. The game playing habits of individual game players are typically determined by monitoring game usage on a gaming machine using a player tracking device of a gaming machine.
Just as gaming establishments use player tracking systems to obtain information about game play in the gaming establishments, it would be very useful for online game providers to obtain such information regarding players of Internet wagering games. However, current player tracking systems are not configured for use outside of a gaming establishment. Even if systems were developed for use outside of a gaming establishment, it would probably be quite expensive to equip each player's host device with a player tracking apparatus. Moreover, a player can use a variety of different host devices for playing Internet wagering games, such as a personal computer (“PC”), a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), etc. It seems unlikely that either the players or the game providers would want to bear the financial burden of providing such equipment for all of the host devices a player may wish to use for playing Internet wagering games. Accordingly, it would be very desirable to develop new player tracking methods and devices for wagering games conducted via the Internet or other networks.